Rush Have Started ‘Tough’ Work of Building R40 Tour Set List

Alex Lifeson says Rush are wrestling with the difficulties in crafting a set list for their upcoming R40 Live dates. To a degree, that's the case with any band boasting this kinda longevity, but there's now added pressure with the revelation that future tours may be far more scaled back.

"That's always a tough one," Lifeson admitted in a recent talk with Q107. "We've already gone through a couple of different set list scenarios. We've been doing some editing, dropping some stuff. We have an idea about how we want to approach it, in terms of the whole show from front to back. We're working on these production ideas."

R40 Live, named after a recent career-spanning home-video compilation of concert films, will visit more than 30 cities throughout North America, beginning in May and continuing through August. The band, in officially announcing the tour, noted that these shows "will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude." Drummer Neil Peart, the father of two young kids, had expressed reservations in particular about the band's rigorous tour schedule.

Still, Lifeson said Rush intend to go out with the proverbial bang. "It's gonna be really, really cool," he said. "We're gonna have a lot of fun with it, and I think our fans are gonna really, really like this little musical trip that we're planning."